Sikander Raza

The Pakistan-born Zimbabwean is better known to the world these days as an international cricketer for his adopted nation, but it is perhaps not as well known that he studied for a BSc in Computing at Glasgow Caledonian University.

No wrong path

His career path was not straightforward. Raza originally studied at the Pakistan Air Force for three years and aspired to be a pilot but failed the vision test that was mandatory for selection. In 2002, Raza moved with his family to Zimbabwe before he came to Glasgow to study at GCU. It was here he realised his cricketing potential.

“I wasn’t thinking about being a professional sportsperson when I came to GCU. I wanted to be a software engineer. Education was the top priority in both mine and my family’s life. I wanted to be in a position where I could show and lead our generation that education can play a huge role in our lives.

“So, my true reason for being in Glasgow was education and cricket started as a recreational thing for me. One of my classmate’s brothers played club cricket in the city and she introduced me to him. It went from there, really. I played for Weirs Cricket Club and Renfrew. I found I was good at the sport and got noticed. I was able to play first-class cricket domestically in Zimbabwe and I returned to Scotland to play as a professional at Prestwick and then Ayr.

“This led to my international call-up in 2013. I went to the Academy, the A team and then the full international team.”

Raza has gone on to play Test, ODI and T20 cricket for Zimbabwe – racking up more than 3,000 runs at ODI level.

He made history in 2022 by becoming the first Zimbabwe player to win the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s player of the month.

Raza beat New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner and England star Ben Stokes to claim the monthly award for August 2022, with the 36-year-old scoring three ODI centuries during the month alone.